One company’s tireless innovation of the sleep industry

Jack Peat

Buying a mattress in 2018 is a very different experience to what it was just a few years ago.

Bed showrooms were full to bursting with hundreds of apparently identical mattresses at vastly different prices, leaving most consumers wondering how on earth to choose the right one for their needs.

And what are their needs exactly? Soft or firm? Springs or foam? How much should they spend? Which brand to choose? Where to shop?

There has been an awakening in the sleep industry in recent years that dates back to the summer of 2013 when four entrepreneurs came together in a co-working space in New York and founded Casper.

With the intention of flipping the mattress industry on its head, they revolutionised everything from the shopping experience (online only with next day delivery and 100-night trial) to the product itself (one perfect mattress for all sleepers).

Fast forward to 2018 and the concept has taken hold so much so you’d be forgiven for forgetting mattresses were ever bought anywhere but online, and that they ever had anything but the cutest of human names.

But it doesn’t stop there.

Casper and its peers appear to have sparked a revolution in sleep, which has spread like wildfire due to their competitive social media advertising campaigns and celebrity backings.

Sleep has been redefined as one of the key pillars of a healthy lifestyle on both sides of the Atlantic.

Keen to keep abreast of the movement, a recent report by the brand identified a whole new generation of people categorised by their uncompromising new love of bed.

Those belonging to ‘Generation Bed’ would sacrifice a night out (28%), skip a gym class (23%), give up their computer or smart phone (19%) or even shun a promotion (5%) for more time in their new beds.